Announcing that he was on the same side as the Taliban a few hours after the world received the good news that President Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize, Rush Limbaugh asked if his listeners were surprised. Well, if they were they didn’t take comedienne Wanda Sykes seriously; she pulled our coats to that back when she spoke at the White House Correspondents dinner. With out pulling any punches Wanda called Rush out and accused him of treason, because his hopes for our President – i.e. the elected leader of the American nation – was the same as Al Qaeda’s. The line received hearty applause from the audience of journalist because they were smart enough to appreciate the gravitas of the dead on critique masquerading as a joke. Removing any ambiguity about the way she really feels about the radio clown, Wanda also said that she hoped Fatty Limbaugh’s kidneys failed! A good possibility given the shape he’s in.

Some otherwise thoughtful people who are normally critics of the rotund Rushbo, such as Keith Olberman, rushed to his defense, evidently feeling the need to defend the fat fart who has mastered the art of character assassination and racial hate mongering. I cheered her on in a long commentary about the Afro-American comedic tradition. And besides, Rush Limbaugh deserved every bit of bile she dumped on him. He is a sad, sick, man whose sense of morality – if you can discern any such thing in his hysterical rants – is twisted in bizarre ways. President Obama stands for bringing the people of the world together, for feeding the hungry and healing the sick. These are the same things that Jesus Christ stood for. But what does Rush Limbaugh stand for?

This is the question that people must begin to ask of the management of ABC, Limbaugh’s boss, because it begs the question of what they stand for. From his daily rants we can see that Limbaugh stands for racism, sexism, corporate greed, and the enthusiastic promotion of dangerous nonsense. But most of all Rush Limbaugh is an egomaniacal hustler who cares first and foremost about his ratings, and after signing a $400 million contract they had better be high. Therefore truth and civic responsibility be damned! All that matters is selling advertising time for top dollar. This is not a speculation on my part, Rush Limbaugh has repeatedly made it plain that these are the things that motivate him. Just last week he spelled it out on the Today Show! And anyone who understands that the raison d’etre for commercial broadcasting is to sell advertising time at the highest price – i.e. it is market driven – means that ethical considerations often get short shrift. Alas in pursuit of the almighty dollar, the management of ABC is prepared to allow Limbaugh and a handful of jerks like Sean Hannity, Dan Savage, et al create an atmosphere of hatred and hysteria that has already resulted in assault and murder – see my commentaries on this blog that address this issue – just because it boosts ratings and therefore increases the value of their advertising.

In other words: Is the American Broadcast company placing their personal profit above the stability of the nation? I can envision no other answer but yes! The irrefutable proof of ABC management’s cavalier disregard for the national security of our country, is their decision to allow a cabal of racist charlatan’s to amp up the white lunatic fringe – who are armed to the teeth and are increasingly showing up at public meetings brandishing weapons – with outrageous lies that these retards believe are facts. It is only a matter of time before they manufacture another Kevin McVey! We have already been warned of this imminent possibility by the Department Of Homeland Security, for which the Republican politicos who benefit from this white rage demanded Secretary Janet Nepolitano apologize! The fundamental question posed by this is: what are the standards for talk show hosts on ABC? Are they simply allowed to come on-air and engage in character assassination against the President and other Democratic leaders who are trying to govern, to guide the country out of the bloody mess the Bushmen left us in? In my view this is tantamount to falsely crying fire in a crowded theater.

The kind of attacks that Limbaugh and company are engaging in goes far beyond mere criticism of the President’s policies; it is the most vitriolic hatred that I have ever seen against a public official whose life is marked by great achievement and is an honorable man in every way. As a professor of media studies I taught a course on “Minorities in Mass Media” and the historical record is abundantly clear on how mass media has been used to incite violence. It is interesting to note that the first newspapers founded by minority groups – Hispanics, Afro-Americans, Asians, Native Americans, were all formed after the white owned and edited newspapers incited mob violence against them through false reportage and incendiary rhetoric in their editorials. And these were only newspapers.

Today the racial arsonists have much more powerful media weapons that mere newspapers, radio and television have a much greater capacity to arouse the emotions of an audience, and when they are as ignorant and paranoid as much of WABC’s audience undoubtedly is, the management of ABC is playing Russian Roulette with the American people. This begs another question: When will Limbaugh and company be satisfied? After some fanatic they have souped up with their harangues takes a shot at the President, convinced that he is rescuing the country from this “crazy nigger communist fascist Hitler!”

I have been asking for years now: Is the management of WABC willing to promote hatred and conflict in our society so long as they can show a rise in revenue? Such a cynical position is unworthy of a corporation that makes its living from the use of public airways. And I for one think it is time for a citizen challenge to their broadcast license. For aside from their totally irresponsible management of on-air personalities, they are a transparently apartheid operation: only white folks are allowed to control the mike! Hence I will be approaching several law professors to see what the possibilities of such a challenge are, and if the civil rights laws regarding discrimination in hiring mean anything even with a black Attorney General at the Justice Department. I am also investigate the possibility of organizing a selective patronage campaign against Rush’s sponsors.

One thing however is beyond question: Rush Limbaugh is a menace to American society, and there is evidence that he is inspiring domestic terrorism. Alas, one other thing is certain, whatever evil Rushbo does the American Broadcasting company is his enabler. There is no question of First Amendment rights here either. This oft cited Amendment by those who argue that Rush has a right to free speech, an untutored mob who know as much about the constitution as a polar bear knows about playing the violin, does not apply here. It is designed to constrain the government from employing the power of the state to suppress dissent, and I’m all for that. But it has nothing to do with the power of ABC management to muzzle or silence Rush completely by firing his fat ignorant ass! And I’m all for that too.